#it’s just so funny that it was of all things *dental* speculative biology

[nelyoslegalteam]

I have a post about dental health in Angband if you want more Silm dentistry content

hi. yes PLEASE???

[drferox]

20 Questions with Dr Ferox #12

I am beyond tired folks, struggling to set by body clock back after a night shift again. It’s a peculiar mix of grunge and headache without having done anything super fun to deserve it, so my apologies if I’m a little slow on the uptake.

But here I have 20 more questions and comments you’ve sent me, so lets get into them. I have tried to tag the question askers, but if you asked on Anon then you’ll have to look through yourself to see if you’ve been answered yet.

Anonymous said: How is Lucifer doing? Are you still seeing him? I checked the archives, but I didn't see any updates past a point and I was curious about the bunbun.

Lucifer isn’t my rabbit, he’s a client’s rabbit. I last saw him several months ago, and if he’s not unwell there’s no reason why I should need to see him more than once a year. This is how it works for most of our patients.

Anonymous said: Has a cat actually swatted at your braid like in your icon?

Yes, younger cats mostly. Trash Bag did it a lot. Dogs go for it too, but they’re more snatching than swatting and that isn’t as cute.

@anonymousautonomousavatar said: in your photos, Trash Bag always looks like you've just caught him doing something naughty and he's trying to think of a way to get out of trouble, and i think that's beautiful

Is he? You know there’s probably a reason for that.

@ ske-lee-ton said: I remember a while ago you mentioned a mewly discovered, rare colouring in domestic cats, like "inverted colourpoint", being darker with white faces and ears, etc. I can't remember the name of it though. I've been looking all over but I can't find it again, but it was interesting and I wanted to show my friend. Do you remember what I'm on about?

I finally found it again. It’s the Karpati colour.

Anonymous said: We have a 17 year old, very lazy, rescue chihuahua mix. She has always been lazy, and she started slowing down even more, and so were like oh shes just old as balls. She wound up getting 5 teeth pulled, and since shes just been as perky as ever, and she even kinda jumps again when excited. This made my mom realize that we really DO need to get our dogs teeth cleaned regularly. Without abscessed teeth, we think our dog may be imortal. Story to encourage owners to clean doggos teeth!

Best of luck to you and your little dog. Dental health is important, but because it degrades so gradually it is often mistaken for just getting older.

@unicorndoggo asked: Is there any nail polish you would recommend that's non-Toxic and dries fast? I might give my puppy a spa day 😜

I’m sorry but I’m not familiar with any nail polishes, I don’t use any makeup even on myself so can’t make any recommendations.

Anonymous asked: Why do some dogs like to chase cars?

Because they move and make a noise.

Also they learn that if they bark and run after the thing, the thing leaves, and they think they have done that so they continue to do it to make the cars leave.

@fossore said: Hi, that question about the ethics of horse riding made me think about the horse post and the part about galloping horses damaging their internal organs, and if I remember correctly that study was done on thoroughbreds. Since thoroughbreds have been bred for a long time to go fast, is it reasonable to assume that a horse without that breeding wouldn't put the same kind of stresses on its internal systems even when going full bore? Or is it more integral to the biomechanics than I'm realizing?

The study I know was done on thoroughbreds, because they’re very common, easily accessible and there’s lots of money behind them. It’s literally just these are the research subjects available. While we may not be able to extrapolate for smaller, pony type horses, we probably can still extrapolate that information for larger breeds. It may also explain why even with modern planed breeding there hasn’t been significant improvement in the racing speed of these horses, they may be approaching their physical limit. It’s interesting to speculate though, and a wild horse will not spend any more time than it absolutely has to running at its top speed. It will only push itself that far if it has to.

Anonymous said: One very important point many don't consider about ethical horsemanship is the age at which the horse is broken in. Most breeds aren't done growing until at least four or five, and in the US especially, many, many horses are started out, especially in high impact sports like racing, when they are under two years old and their skeletons aren't in the least bit mature. It's no wonder so many racehorses wind up wrecked. Look at poor Eight Belles. Dressage tends to start much later!

I would say that hose working within animal industries are aware of this, but there is little motivation from the industry itself to change this. A horse is an expensive animal to keep, and years spent doing nothing with it are ‘wasted’.

Dressage may start training horses later, but it’s not free of issues either.

@bettsplendens asked: I have a can of freeze-dried shrimp, meant to be used as fish treats, that one of our cats really likes. I let her have a few of them, there's no other ingredients than some sort of small, freeze-dried river shrimp. Would they be a safe treat for her now and then?

If they’re like brine shrimp they’re probably fine, probably very salty though. They’re be too small for the exoskeleton to get stuck anywhere. My cats like fishfood too.

@rxadkill said: im just wondering what you're opinion on this is, but one of my cats loves to rhythmically bat her paws against the railing of the stairs. we've caught her a few times and she doesnt use her claws at all just the pads of her feet. we say shes "playing the bongos" because of the sound it makes and we were all wondering could she be doing it because she likes the sound? is that even a thing cats do?  question tax thing?: came cause im a prevet major stayed for funny stories and great advice

There is probably something in the activity that she finds novel or interesting, whether it’s a sound or texture. Batting is a normal behavior, she’s just doing it to an odd thing.

@terrychuu said: years ago, when i was still very young, my cat had a very bad case of bladder stones, and both my mom and me failed to notice.. until, eventually, his bladder burst. we took him to the vet, and they said they could only put him down at this point, but to this day i cant help but wonder.. was that really the only option? i mean, if a human bladder were to burst, you dont just "put them down" either.. do you? :/

No you don’t put humans down for a ruptured bladder, but we have ore resources available for humans than we do pets and I don’t know what was available ‘years ago’ in your location.

Bladder rupture is very rare, and while a tear is repairable surgery it’s not a cheap surgery especially if ureters are involved in any way. And the cat still requires lifelong care to manage their predisposition towards developing bladder stones.

More common is a urethral blockage, which can happen very suddenly, ad this can cause serious life threatening complications in a short amount of time.

Anonymous said: Would you say that terrier breeds are a group of dogs that are prone to skin allergies than other grouped breeds?  I'm a vet nurse and while I see allergies in breeds like pointers and sharpeis, the more common groups are terriers of all sorts.  From maltese, WHW, Staffies etc. Could this be put down to genetics of how the breeds came to be through breeding or would you say just purely a dietary reason?

Dietary reasons for allergies are relatively rare, they’re thought to be a component in only about 20% of allergy cases. There is likely to be a genetic component within each breed, but this may well be a different component for each, as many of these breeds don’t share common ancestry. It may also be worsened by increased exposure of allergens to the less hairy skin of their abdomen, which is typically lower to the ground for dogs in this group.

@thehighwayphantom asked: I have a question about Rottweilers. From your experience, have you noticed that they are prone to cancer more than other breeds? I only ask because I have a friend whose 31 and his family have had rotties all his life (five dogs) and three of those have been PTS with cancer/cancer related issues. They swear its the breed but they also own a welding/metal working business and the dogs are allowed in the shed which makes me wonder if its environmental? 

It’s highly likely to be genetic. We don’t see as many environmental causes for cancer identified in dogs and cats because their lives are relatively short compared to ours, they are exposed to these things for a shorter period of time. Different types of cancers are common causes of death for rottweilers.

Anonymous said: Hey Doc, I wanted to say how much I appreciate your breed writeups. Something about the degree to which humans have bred and inbred and specialized dogs (and other "breed"-possessing domestic animals) really unnerves me, and its good to see medical proof, in a way, that the degree of inbreeding is and has been quite harmful to the animals.

I’m glad some people find them useful and don’t take offense because I’m not strongly ‘pro’ enough for their particular breed.

Anonymous said: My lab mix is terrified of thunderstorms and fireworks. Whenever he gets scared we take him into the basement and to the laundry room and turn on the washer and dryer. We lay there with him till it stops. Me and my dad have spent many nights sleeping on the floor with him.  Question tax: came for the vet advice and stayed for the breed analysis and fantasy biology. Love your blog!

If that’s the coping mechanisms your family have developed with your lab to manage his noise phobia, and it’s manageable, then that is one way to help him.

@ surskitty said: I've been harness training my cat, and today she learned grass is fun to chew on.  She also walked on the sidewalk outside my house.  Now she's napping on my lap.

 I’m glad the training’s going well and is enjoyable for you both.

@ipreferpencil said: Thankful for your blog because I have learned that vets don't mind if I call with a concern and that I can question the treatment plan if I think it's not working. My kitty was put on prescription z/d food for protein allergies I guess? I have always thought it seasonal allergies. Anyway, she hates the food, is still itchy, and keeps losing weight (went from 8.5 pounds in March to 6.4 pounds just now) and so I called today and asked the vet to call me back regarding switching her off this food.

If I could get the whole world to learn one thing from this blog, it’s that it’s ok, even encouraged, to call your own vet to ask questions. Thank you. I hope everything goes well for her.

Anonymous said: You're so knowledgeable and responsible. I really enjoy your blog!!!

Thanks. Cheers for the extra exclamation marks!!!

@bobthejob said: I just wanted to say that my dog wont take her carsickness pills unless you make peanut butter toast and then eat a little bit of it yourself and hide the pill casually in another piece out of sight. She thinks shes really getting a big treat bc normally she only gets veggies or sometimes meat off people plates XD

Also youre glorious. I love vets. Yall are like gods/godesses. Youre great and while now i know more bc im a bio student when i was little the vet was basically a sorcerer in my mind. I wanted to be a vet for a long time and then i was like "thats a lot of school and my brain isnt suited to it" but THEN last year i realized that it was the husbandry of animals i really was interested in and i was like oh too bad that isnt a career and THEN i was like wait isnt that just a zookeeper and yeah. Now im going to school and im going to be a zookeeper and im SO PUMPED IM SO READY 

I’m always happy to hear Vetlings are finding their way in life. I wish well to all of you, even if veterinary medicine isn’t where you ultimately end up.

I used to think the vet was magic too when I was little.

Good luck on your zookeeper journey!